Apparatus for the manufacture of photographic films.



0L WINTERMEYER. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHIG FILMS. 1$322,617.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 22, 1909.

- Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

2 SHEETS8HBET l.

WITNESSES: (94ft? n le nidafl INVENTOR M 5 K By 6i: ATTORNEY 0.WINTERMEYBR.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHIG FILMS.

APPLIOATION .IILED OCT. 22, 1909. 1,022,617. 1 Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

' 2 BHBETBSHEET 2.

INVEIITOH mazes WITNESSES:

yaw q I graphic Films, of which the following is a UNITEDSTATES ELI-ENT-clar on? or'ro wmrmmnmn, or LF LnxusEN, NEAR coLoenn-onnuanr, assmnon moFAmaslvraimnmn vor' rnmnn; BAYER a 00.; or ELnExrELn'e mmNY, a

coarom'rxonxor eEnMAN-Y.

-AP PA RA TUS FOR-.THE MANUFACTURE OF 'PHOTOGRAPHIC FILMS.

To'all whom it may concerns Beit known that' I, O'rro VVINTERMEYER,tizen of the German Empire, residing at everkusen, near Cologne,Germany, have invented newand useful Improvements in Apparatus for theManufacture of Photospecification. .My'mventm'n relatesrto new anduseful improvements in mach nes or apparatus for the manufacture ofphotographic films, and

moreparticularly to machines for making or forming the strip or sheet ofcomposition materialJs'uch for instance as celluloid, which acts as thecarrier or support for the sensitized emulsion. p

The object of the invention is toprovide a machine for the purpose setforth which will be simple in construction, eflicient ,in operation andwhich will permit of the formation of a continuous strip or sheet of thefilm from a batch or batches of raw material subjected to the machine.-

The invention consists in the improved machine to be fully describedhereinafter and the novelty of which will be particu- .larly pointed outand distinctly claimed.

- I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanyingdrawings to be takenas a part of this'specification and Fi re 1 is aview in side elevation and partly in sectionof a machine embodying mypresent invention. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the oppositeside of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1,1-the'dry- -ing casingbeing shown in longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a sectional ,view on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings charactersof reference'.A designates generallya drum constructed of a pair of annular elements 1, 1 spaced apartfrom'each other and preferably formed of bar metal which is I-shaped incross-section. Secured t0 the internal flanges of these annularelements'is a continuousostrip of sheet metal 2 or. other suitablematerial, which forms the periphery of the drum and closes thecircumferential space between the said annular elements, the

inner face of this shell forming the surfaceupon which the film-isformed. The size of the drum and the width of the strip -2 areSpecification o! unwritten I Application filed October 22, 1909. Seriall i'o, 15 24,000.

immaterial but are usually proportioned. according to the width andlength of the film to 'made,'and,- of course, it will be understood thatthe inner face of the shell is madesmooth and-unbroken in order thatthe.filn 1 when cast or formedwil-l have asmooth and unblemishedsurface.

Suitable means is provided for revolving the drum on its longitudinalaxisysaid means consisting preferably of spaced bearin rollers3, 3,mounted upon shafts 4, 4, the latter being journaled inthe' upper endsof standards 5, 5, s'aid rollers'3, 3', having circumferential flanges6, 6. The drum-- Patented A r. 9, 1912. r

rests and is revoluble upon the rollers 3, 3'

and is arranged so that 'the outer heads or flanges of the barsl1,l restupon the peripheries ofsaid rollers, the flanges on the latter servingtoengage the said bars and prevent lateral dislodgment of the drum fromthe rollers during'the evolut-ion dfthe drum.

The drum is revolved by driving one of the rollers 3, 3- in any suitablemanner, one of the shafts 5, 5 being provided with a pulley 7, or othertransmission mechanism.

' Mounted upon suitable vertical standards 8, 8 is a hood which envelopsthe shell of the drum throughout the greaterportion ofits circumference,said hood comprising a circumferential portion or wall 9 arranged outside of thedrum, but spaced therefrom and depending skirt portions I0,10 which project inwardly toward the axis-of revolution of the drum asutii'cient distance to'completely cover the shell of the drum andterminate at a oint, between the said shell andv the center o the drum.The ends 'of this hood termidate at a-point belowthe horizontal diameterof the drum so that the great portion of the shell of the drum isenveloped by the. hood and said skirt portions are connected within theshell by a plate or partition 11 so that a ortion of the shell isincluded with-- in a tu ular chamber to which air may .be.

supplied througliv the opening 12 and find,

exit therefrom through the opening 13.

Suitable means is-provided for heating the drum, and, while a number ofexpedients can be employed for this purpose, I'prefer to use theconstruction which I will now describe.

Located in the space between the part 9 ofthe .hood and the outersurfaceof the drum, and preferably down between the outerprojectingparts of the bars 1, 1 1s a meeting-coil of ipe 14 the legs'of'which extributing it upon the shell during the revolution of thedrum. \Vhile various means might be devised for accomplishing this step,I prefer to employ a feed ladle or trou h 15 located within the drumadjacent the ttom portion thereof, and extending transversely of theshell, said trough beinr, pivotally supported on suitable bracket arms16 secured to standards 17 arranged on opposite sides of the drum, saidtrough being so supported on said brackets that the comsition may spreadtherefroln upon the inner surface o f the shell.

In operation the batch spreads upon the inner surface of the shell fromthe feed trough 15 and the shell revolving in the direction of thearrow, as shown in Fig. 1, continuously carries the batch up within thehood, the batch, owing to the movement of the drum, spreading andflowing into a thin, film. As the film-moves up within the hood the airflowing therethrough and the heat supplied. from the heating coil,evaporate the more volatile constituents of the composgzipln and leavethe finished film upon the s e Means is tprovided for continuouslyremoving the nished film from the shell, and this means may consist of areceiving spool or reel 19 supported on a horizontal axis within theshell, said spool being provided with a gudgeon 20 journaled in abearing 21 at the upper end of a standard 22. Any suitable means isprovided for turning the spool or reel as a hand crank 23 connected tosaid gudgeon.

Mounted in the upper ends of the standards 17 is a horizontally disposedroller 24 extending through the .drum transversely of 'the latter, andwith its periphery closely adjacent the inner surface of the drum shell.When the film-forming process is being carried on, the hatch beingdeposited on the shell, is formed into a film as abo e described, andtheportion first formed noves around beneath the roller 24, when it. isdetached from the shell and carried up sad attached to the reel 19, uponwhich each sheet of film may be wound as it is formed.

Among the advantages of the above construction the following may bementioned:

It will be seen that by forming the film on the inside ofthe drum acompact apparatus may be provided "for the reason that the feedingdevice for the composition may be located within the confines of thedrum at the bottom thereof instead of being located exte rior to thedrum and above the same, as would be the case were the film formed inthe exterior of the drum. This is of advantage for the reason that theheight of the machine is reduced. The apparatus also provides simple andeffective means for heating theshell and theofilrn thereon, so

that the heat is brought into intimate contact with the film while beingformed to thoroughly evaporate the volatile substances therefrom. Itwill also be parent that the filmis formed continuous y, its lengthdepending solely upon a continuous feed of the film composition, and thenumber of revolutions the shell or drum is permitted to make. I 1 What Iclaim and desire to secure by lat-- ters Patent of the United- Statesis 1. A machine for formingfilm comprising a revoluble shell havingan-internal continuous film-forming surface and open ends,

means for heating the shell, means for depositing materialupon saidsurface, and a Q I chamber through which the shell revolves andinclosing said heating means. a

2. A-machine for forming film compris- 7 ing a revoluble shell having aninternal continuous film-forming surface and open ends, means fordeposit-ing material upon said surface, a chamber through which aportion of the circumference of the shell moves,

and a heating coil in the chamber exterior of the shell.

3. A- machine for forming film comprising a revoluble shell having aninternal continuous film-forming surface and open ends,

means for heating the shell, means for de positing material upon saidsurface, a chamber inclosing a portion of said shell and the heatingmeans, and means for permitting a circulation of air through thechamber.

4. A machine for forming film comprising a revoluble shell having acontinuous in-' ternal film-forming surface, means for continuouslydepositing material upon said sur-v face, and means for continuouslystripping completed film therefrom during the revolution of said shell.a

5. -A machine for forming film comprising a revoluble shellhavinga-continuous internal film-forming surface, means fordepositingmaterial upon said surface, means for drying the film on said surfaceduring the revolution of the shell, and'means for stripping film fromthe surfac I 6. A machine for forming in comprising a revoluble shellhaving a continuous internal film-forming surface, means for depositingmaterial upon said surface, means fort drying the a stripping roller a-.'cent the surfaicgfnr removing the film from the "shell, and a reel forreceiving the stripped film, said depositing inean's roller,

and reel being operable Within said shell.

A machine for-forming film comprising a revoluble shell open at its endsand -havfi11g an internal film-forming surface,

rollers upon which said'shell is supported and revolves, means at thebottom of the t shellpfor'depositl'ng material on said surface, a dryingchamberinclosing the upper portion of the shell, 21- str-ipping rollerad acent and in advance of the depositing means, and a reel projectingWithin the shell for receiving the stripped film.

8. A machine for forming film, comprising a l-evoluble shell having acontinuousinternai film forming surface, and means for stripping thecompleted film therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

OTTO W INTERMEYER. a 3.

Witnesses: p OTTO Kenn},

CHAS. J. WRIGHT.

